Pollinating African Violets

Pollinating African violets is a fun and easy way to producing new varieties and hybrids to call your own. Crossing African violet plants will produce unique color combinations and leaf shapes, sometimes never before seen.

How to Cross African Violets

African Violet Flower Parts

The reproductive flower parts of the African violet that we need to be concerned with in hybridizing are the yellow anthers (pollen sacs) of the donor (male or donor parent) and the sticky end (stigma) of the style (collectively, the stigma and style are called the pistil). The donor pollen needs to be applied to the sticky end of the pistil when seed parent (female, or pod parent) is receptive.

Yellow anthers (pollen sacs)

Ovaries+style+stigma = pistil

The stigma at the end of the style is sticky when the plant is receptive to pollen